[Goose]

Innnnteresting.  Either run blocking is easier to coach to these guys, or the braintrust thinks we aren't getting anyone who can make hot reads under pressure at QB? ;)  I would have thought Shaw would be run-first til the cows came home.

Hot reads are one thing Wearing your center is another. At times last year, pass blocking was non-existant. I don't expect Shaw will really be changing much. He will have either a first time starter or Burns as the QB. I expect that, if it is Burns, he will be better that he showed in the Sun Bowl. However, he will not be confused with Andrew Luck. Stanford will still be a run-first team. But Shaw knows that it can't be a run-only team. We need to force the other team to dare us to pass, and then burn them when we do. Last year, we basically couldn't do that for most, if not all of the year. The teams that we played in the second half of the year were mostly bad enough that we could run on them no matter what they tried. So I think the realization is that we must have some at least basically effective pass blocking or else all the run blocking in the world will not beat U$C or Washington.
On a similar note, how do people feel about the spring practice so far? Last spring, I think that the defense, particularly Thomas, was so disruptive that the offense pretty much always looked ineffective. I think we all thought, "Well, CMac isn't playing, and we have a very good defense, so it isn't so bad that we don't look good offensively". Then it turned out that the offense was actually to some significant degree less effective than we hoped. So what do people see this year? (Yes, I know it is hard to tell, but (somewhat) informed speculation is why we are here).

[Goose]

Innnnteresting.  Either run blocking is easier to coach to these guys, or the braintrust thinks we aren't getting anyone who can make hot reads under pressure at QB? ;)  I would have thought Shaw would be run-first til the cows came home.

Hot reads are one thing Wearing your center is another. At times last year, pass blocking was non-existant. I don't expect Shaw will really be changing much. He will have either a first time starter or Burns as the QB. I expect that, if it is Burns, he will be better that he showed in the Sun Bowl. However, he will not be confused with Andrew Luck. Stanford will still be a run-first team. But Shaw knows that it can't be a run-only team. We need to force the other team to dare us to pass, and then burn them when we do. Last year, we basically couldn't do that for most, if not all of the year. The teams that we played in the second half of the year were mostly bad enough that we could run on them no matter what they tried. So I think the realization is that we must have some at least basically effective pass blocking or else all the run blocking in the world will not beat U$C or Washington.
On a similar note, how do people feel about the spring practice so far? Last spring, I think that the defense, particularly Thomas, was so disruptive that the offense pretty much always looked ineffective. I think we all thought, "Well, CMac isn't playing, and we have a very good defense, so it isn't so bad that we don't look good offensively". Then it turned out that the offense was actually to some significant degree less effective than we hoped. So what do people see this year? (Yes, I know it is hard to tell, but (somewhat) informed speculation is why we are here).